Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Could the Minister of State outline the sanctions for Government agencies that ignore Circular 10/14? In 2014, the Small Firms Association, SFA, made a submission to the Committee of Public Accounts that stated 82% of its members surveyed believed the emphasis in procurement was on price rather than on value for money. There is still a very strong perception among the SME community that price is king and that the value for money and social issues, which the Minister of State mentioned, are irrelevant.

TenderScout has done a survey and an analysis of Irish public procurement, which I recommend the Minister of State peruse. It suggests only 11,000 firms in Ireland are involved in public procurement, which is only 6% of the company base in the country. This indicates how many people are not interested in it, or do not feel they are competitive enough to get involved in it, and, thus, the opportunities that exist and the challenge that faces the Government in terms of using procurement as a much better tool of business.

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